The Everyday Chef: Toasted Chipotle Tomato Jasmine Rice

Andrew Dole, RDN, CECEveryday Chef, Fruits & Veggies—More Matters

I have a not very secret love affair with jasmine rice which means it shows up in recipes where you wouldn’t normally think a distinctly flavored rice would work. This toasted Latin rice recipe is a perfect example. The smoky, spicy elements from chipotle in the adobo sauce combined with the subtly sweet tomato juice allows the toasted jasmine in this dish to dance in the background, teasing your taste buds.

Traditionally, a southwestern or Tex-Mex style of fried tomato rice uses regular long-grain white rice and lots of fat to fry (or toast) the grains so they develop a rich nutty flavor. However, lots of fat isn’t necessary to achieve a nutty, evenly toasted rice, so I reduced the fat content considerably. But why did I use jasmine rice and tomato juice?

First, regular long-grain white rice tends to dry out and become hard after refrigeration. It also doesn’t reheat particularly well. Jasmine rice is different. It is a medium-grain rice that stays tender and is less likely to dry out. It also doesn’t clump up like short grains – think risotto or Japanese sticky rice. This makes jasmine rice ideal for rice salads and rice sides you want to eat over several days.

What about the jasmine flavor? Plain jasmine rice has a distinct flavor and it is often associated with Thai flavors. Thai flavors are bold – lime, coconut, garlic, chili pastes. Jasmine rice plays nice with those. So why wouldn’t it work with the bold Latin flavors that are quite similar! Truth is, it does play nice and it’s a very versatile rice.

Second, tomato juice has a lot of built in culinary benefits. It works to color the rice a beautiful shade of red. It also possesses an interesting characteristic of savory salty yet faintly sweet. It adds a depth of “umami” or brothy meatiness. I used a low-sodium tomato juice to reduce the salt content and still benefit from the flavor complexity tomato juice provides.

Preferred method of fluffing rice: take rice pot and dump cooked rice into a large bowl. Using a large spoon gently sift through rice breaking up large clump and mix bottom to top. You should see large wafts of steam leaving the rice. This method lets the rice steam out becoming airy and easier to mix in ingredients, especially lime juice of vinegars. It is an extra step, but I feel the results are worth it.

Squeeze lime juice over rice, add in 1/2 the cheese and 1/2 the cilantro. Mix gently a few times.